Late Night Apricot, Cherry, and Almond Bread

It’s 7 pm

Any other weekend I would have been in bed already, a list of chores strewn across my bedspread. A heavy body from a day of work and a heavy heart from procrastinating all the things I was too tired to do. I was up at 5 am to work.

Its 7 pm and I’m in the kitchen, facing the stretch of a long 7 days with nothing to do but an endless to-do list. Vacation in the age of COVID 19 for a workaholic.

I tear apart my pantry, reorganizing, downsizing, composting- where did all this food come from? Flours, four different kinds of rice, lentils. 2 Tbsp of dried chickpeas from two years ago, dried apricots, cherries, almonds...

The shere sight of it all has my head spinning.

7:30 pm and half of my pantry items are on every available kitchen surface. I have a hard time remembering where I bought all this sh**.

7:45 pm and I decide to bake something out of the Moosewood Cookbook. It’s a very famous restaurant in Ithaca NY that I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting. Despite living in Ithaca for two and half years. My copy is from the 70’s that I purchased from a used book store in North East Florida- I paid $2 for it. How it got there I have no idea, but I brought it home with me.

All the pages are copies of handwritten recipes scrawled in endearing handwriting. the recipes are adorned with small illustrations some having to do with the recipes, and some not so much. Towards the back of the book is a recipe for Apricot Almond Bread. Almost oil-free, and refined sugar free- not that that mattered to me after having been up for close to 14 hours. I just wanted to use up some of the odds and ends taking up space.

I don’t have enough dried apricots so I add dried cherries, too many but I wanted to use up the rest of the bag. Measuring is a casual word when I bake for myself, I let go of my fear of perfection in home baking when I worked in Italy.

I like the Moosewood Cookbook. All the recipes are handwritten as I mentioned. Simple, approachable and filled with so much unpretentious soul.

I use up the rest of my whole wheat pastry flour and quickly make a flax egg. (That’s made by combining 1 Tbsp of ground flax and 3 Tbsp of water, mixed together and left to sit for about 7 minutes).

Two generous pads of earth balance and I’m on my way, mixing all the wet ingredients and then adding the dry.

8:35 PM I spread the batter into a loaf tin that has seen a lot of beautiful bread and I lick the spatula. The earthiness of maple syrup is a beautiful thing indeed.

10:00 pm I pop the loaf out of the tin and put it on a wire rack. It’s still steaming. And then I go up to bed, maybe I sneak a slice or two. The next day I’ll photograph it, tomorrow- forever a procrastinator.

I wonder how many workaholics enjoy vacations- I will not rest quietly.

The recipe below is an plant-based adaptation of the Apricot Almond bread found in the Moosewood cookbook. Enjoy for a weeknight treat or late night pantry clean out.

Plant Based Apricot, Cherry and Almond Bread

Adapted from Moosewood Cookbook | 10/1/20

• prep time: 20 minutes
• cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Servings: 8 to 10

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup dried apricots- quartered
• 3/4 Cup dried cherries
• 1 1/2 Cup boiling water
• 2 Tbsp earth balance or other plant based butter
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup chopped almonds
• 1 flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 Tbsp water, left to sit for 5 to 7 minutes)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Pour boiling water over the dried fruit and leave coverd for about 10 minutes. Cool slightly.
2. Add the earth balance, maple syrup, flax egg and vanilla. Stir to combine.
3. Add in all of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
4. Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, checking after the 1 hour mark. The loaf is done when it is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove the loaf from the baking tin after cooling for 10 minutes. Cool completely before enjoying. This loaf can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.